areaseven Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 (edited) BunrakuSnoot Entertainment/XLRator Media/ARC Entertainment/IM Global, 2011Written and Directed by Guy MosheRunning Time: 118 minutesRated R for graphic violence and profanity. CastJosh Hartnett (Salesman in Sin City) as the DrifterWoody Harrelson (Defendor, Tallahassee in Zombieland) as the BartenderGackt (overrated, overexposed J-pop artist) as YoshiKevin McKidd (Tommy in Trainspotting, Mactavish in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2-3) as Killer #2Ron Perlman (Hellboy, Nino in Drive) as Nicola the WoodcutterDemi Moore (Jules in St. Elmo's Fire, Molly in Ghost) as AlexandraJordi Mollà as ValentineShun Sugata (Takayama in Ichi the Killer, Nakao in The Last Samurai) as Yoshi's uncleEmily Kaiho as MomokoMike Patton (Faith No More lead vocalist) as the NarratorSynopsisSeveral years into the future, following a devastating global war, mankind has outlawed the use of guns. However, the will to fight still exists using swords and fists. A nameless cowboy known as the "Drifter" and a lone samurai named Yoshi arrive in a lawless town with just one common objective: kill the ruthless and powerful crime lord Nikola the Woodcutter. Despite their initial differences, the duo befriends a local bartender and join forces to take down Nikola and his syndicate of killers.LowdownBunraku (文楽) is a term used to describe a centuries-old form of traditional Japanese puppet theater. Unfortunately, this movie makes puppet theater look and feel more exciting. Bunraku (the movie) is an ambitious attempt to fuse together Sin City with a Spaghetti Western and a Samurai Epic in a digital sound stage. Hell, there's even a fight scene that tries to be the old video game Elevator Action. Sure, the fight scenes are marvelously choreographed and many of the camera angles are well-placed, but the intentional paper look of the background props just adds to the half-@ssed approach to the storytelling. The talents of Woody Harrelson and Kevin McKidd are wasted by the bland dialogue and cheesy acting by both Josh Hartnett and Gackt. Demi Moore may still be hot in her late-40s, but really, she doesn't do anything to make this film more watchable. Worse is that this cliché-ridden snooze-fest is almost two hours long, struggling to wow viewers with its cheaply-made visual effects in place of a non-coherent plot (if there ever was one to begin with).In short, Bunraku is just a mediocre rental at most. It actually makes Sucker Punch look like an Oscar contender for Best Picture.Rating: DLinksOfficial SiteReferencesThe Internet Movie Database Edited April 1, 2014 by areaseven Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JELEINEN Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 I remember seeing the trailers for this and thought it looked interesting. Glad to hear I didn't waste any money trying to see it in the theater. Might try catching it cheaply online for the fight scenes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EXO Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 Never heard of it... Wish I still hadn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeyondTheGrave Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 Saw several copies of this at local used movie place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Train Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 Incredibad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
areaseven Posted December 30, 2011 Author Share Posted December 30, 2011 Here are a couple of sample clips: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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